News about the rescue of American doctor Dilip Joseph by US Special Operations Forces in a raid on a Taliban hideout Sunday surprised many who were unaware that the terrorist insurgent group was even holding a US hostage.

The operation was launched when US military officials gathered intelligence that Dr. Joseph was "in imminent danger of injury or death". A member of the special ops rescue team was wounded during the raid and later died. Expressing his condolences, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, "The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy's grip."

It's little wonder that the Special Operations Forces community like to keep all of the details under wraps. But why is it so important to keep even the identity of the kidnapping victim, including the fact that anyone was kidnapped at all, secret?

Nine people were injured when unknown attackers opened fire at protesters camping at Tahrir Square on Tuesday. Police cars surrounded the square, the first time they have appeared in the area since November 23.

The attackers also threw petrol bombs which started a small fire, according to witnesses. Many protesters, awakened by the commotion, chanted, "The people want the downfall of the regime," as recorded recitations of the Koran were played over loudspeakers in the square.

[Magharebia] The UN Security Council last Wednesday (December 5th) sanctioned al-Qaeda splinter group Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). Under the resolution, "UN member states have to freeze the assets of groups and individuals on this black list, impose a ban on arms sales and a travel ban on all of its members," according to AFP.

They can, however, still accept VISA and MasterCard...

The UN said that the MUJAO had seized heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, explosives and other military equipment from Mali military arsenals since moving into the country.

"The MUJAO's leaders are known to be narcos, involved in the drug trade in the Sahel," the UN statement added.

Following the passage of the UN resolution, MUJAO leaders Hamada Ould Mohamed Kheirou of Mauritania and Ahmed al-Talmasi of Algeria were put on international lists of known terrorists.

A source close to Kheirou's family spoke to Magharebia on December 9th.

"He belongs to the Tagounanet tribe in Lebeiratt, Trazra province, in southeast Mauritania. He joined al-Qaeda in 2003 when he left to fight against international forces in Iraq. He climbed the ladder in al-Qaeda until he became the head of the Sharia committee, and was later appointed as head of the judiciary council in Gao after MUJAO controlled the city," the source said under condition of anonymity.

According to analyst al-Mokhtar al-Salem, "the area of Lebeiratt -- from where Ould Mohamed Kheirou hails - is also the home of the great Mauritanian scholar Lemjidry Ould Hob Allah, who brought Wahhabism to the East in the 19th century".

[Yemen Post] Yemeni warplanes raided early Sunday areas in Marib province a day after an Al-Qaeda ambush that killed a key military officer and seven others including local security officers, local sources told the Yemen Post.

A citizen was killed during the raids in the Wadi Abida district where tribal saboteurs have repeatedly attacked the Marib-Ras Isa oil pipeline since last month.

The ambush yesterday was carried out while the victims were patrolling the area to prevent more attacks on the pipeline.

The Arclight airstrikes were focused on suspected areas where Al-Qaeda gun-hung tough guys are living in Marib, according to the sources.

In late last month, rustics bombed the Marib oil pipeline shortly after completing the repairs in the notorious Wadi Abida district forcing the army to shell it killing two suspected saboteurs.

Separately, Almasdar Online reported a fresh kaboom has hit the natural gas pipeline in the southeastern Shabwa province, but Yemen LNG and the oil and minerals ministry declined to comment.

The website quoted local sources as saying they heard big kabooms in the Usailan area and saw fire flames at the pipeline.

Yemen's oil and gas pipelines have been repeatedly attacked in the past few years mostly by tribal saboteurs and Al-Qaeda jihad boys.

Two of the country's three oil pipelines have been out of commission in Marib and Shabwa due to repeated attacks since last month.

And the Balhaf LNG plant restarted early this month after the shutdown because of a late October attack on the pipeline, which carries natural gas from Block 18 in Marib to the plant in Shabwa.

[Yemen Post] A soldier was killed and another two injured when gunnies attacked a police car in an attempt to release a convict in downtown Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday, security sources told the Yemen Post.

The gunnies, who were onboard two pickups, fired at and pursued the central prison truck to release, Saleh Al-Shatawai, who had been convicted to death, they explained.

"The incident took place early Saturday while the convict was leaving Althawra hospital where he was checked under the order of the prosecution," they said, but gave no more details including the charges for which Al-Shatawai has been convicted.

The guards of the police truck resisted the attack, with one of them killed and two injured as a result.

Separately, the security authorities defused an bomb that was placed inside the car of a senior security officer in Hadramout...the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate, annexed by Communist South Yemen in 1968, encompassing a region along the Gulf of Aden, extending eastwards to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman. The people are called Hadhramis and speak Hadhrami Arabic. The city Tarimis estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (PTUI) anywhere in the world, approximately seven in every square yard... province, state media reported.

The bomb was discovered immediately after the personal driver arrived to take Colonel Salim Ali Al-Sufra from his workplace, said Fahmi Al-Saiari, director of the Hadramout security office.

"The Colonel noticed the bomb under his car, which appeared as a strange stuff, and then called the authorities," he said, adding experts were sent immediately to defuse it.

Investigations have been launched into the two incidents, which came amid alarming security disorder and acts of sabotage in key parts of Yemen.

Tens of senior military and security officers including intelligence agents have been killed in main cities including the capital Sanaa so far this year.

[Iran Press TV] Riot police in Azerbaijan have tossed in the slammerDrop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! dozens of opposition activists trying to stage a peaceful demonstration against the government of President Elham Aliyev in the capital Baku.

The arrests came after hundreds of people gathered near the Fountains Square in central Baku on Monday where they demanded the resignation of President Aliyev and the dissolution of parliament.

The opposition parties including Azerbaijan Popular Front Party and Musavat (equality) Party say the sitting politicians are corrupt and do not represent the will of the people.

"With this protest, we have managed to draw the international community's attention to the alarming situation regarding human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty..., media freedom, and political atmosphere in Azerbaijan," said leader of the Musavat Party, Isa Gambar during the protest.

Carrying Azerbaijan's national and opposition party flags, protesters also demanded release of people nabbedDrop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! during the previous rally.

On November 17, a similar protest occurred in the same city where security forces arrested dozens of anti-government demonstrators including journalists who covered the protest rally.

The Azeri protesters are furious about the gap between the rich and the poor, rampant corruption and an economy highly dependent on oil in the country of nine million.

The bomb, which was found on Monday afternoon, caused major delays in the Bonn region during the evening rush hour. It also disrupted long-distance trains traveling through the region.Salafist Christmas surprise

[Dawn] The Pak Taliban have threatened to stage further attacks targeting political gatherings of the country's secular Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM), their front man said on Monday, the same day a blast near an ANP gathering in Charsadda injured seven people.

The kaboom in a car-park outside the venue of a public gathering scheduled to be addressed by ANP Chief Asfand Yar Wali Khan in Charsadda's Kulladher district. The bomb went kaboom! shortly before the formal launch of the event before the ANP leaders had arrived at the venue.

Medical Superintendent of Charsadda Hospital Dr Mohammad Nawaz confirmed seven people, including two coppers, were maimed in the blast. Security sources said that 500 grams of kaboom was used in the making of the bomb, which exploded remotely.

The attack on the ANP gathering "is just a beginning. The attacks will intensify on both the secular ANP and MQM's political gatherings," threatened the TTP front man, cautioning the general public to stay away from the rallies.

Ehsan said the ANP and MQM would be on their hit-list because of their enmity towards the Taliban.

Ehsan added that the ANP and MQM because of their enmity towards Taliban would be on their hit list and their political gatherings will be targeted.

"We request the public to avoid attending such rallies in their own interest," said the front man.

About TTP stance on other political parties, he said, though they are all one, as far as their secular ideology is concerned, Taliban would announce their strategy regarding other parties later.

[Dawn] Around 39 suspects were locked awayMaw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! by the Rangers in separate raids in parts of the city on Sunday morning.

Arms and ammunition were also seized during the raids, said a Rangers front man. Rangers personnel rounded up 24 suspects in targeted operations in Surjani and Ghass Mandi, and seized arms and ammunition.The front man said that an arms supplier affiliated with a political party was also detained.

He said 19 weapons of different calibre, including SMG, MP-5 rifles and pistols, and a large cache of ammunition, including armour-piercing bullets, satellite phones, daggers, telescopes, binoculars and laser range finder were seized.

The Rangers also conducted a similar operation in Bilal Colony, Korangi, and detained 15 suspects, including four hardened criminals, and seized over 40 weapons, the front man said.

[Dawn] Four people, two brothers among them, were killed and three others injured when unidentified motorcyclists opened indiscriminate fire on a van they were onboard in the Sheikh Yousaf area here on Sunday.

Police said that a fruit trader, Haji Gul Mohammad, his two sons Anas and Ahsan, and employees Fazlur Rehman, Abid, Ismail and Zahid were going in the van to the fruit market when the gunnies riding two cycles of violence attacked them.

As a result, Anas, Ahsan, Ismail and Abid were killed on the spot, while others received injuries. They were taken to hospital.

The attackers escaped the area after the killing. The police registered the case and started investigation.

[Dawn] A security man was killed and his colleague received injuries when they tried to defuse a bomb in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency on Sunday.

Officials said that soldier Hashim Khan and his colleague Zafar Ali spotted a bomb along the road during routine patrol in Sheen Qamar area. They were trying to detach the wires of the bomb when it went off, killing Hashim Khan on the spot and injuring Zafar Ali.

The injured was shifted to a military hospital in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. while the body of the killed soldier was sent to his ancestral village.

In North Wazoo Agency, the bullet riddled body of a paramilitary soldier, who was kidnapped along with his colleague from a checkpost on Friday, was found in Miranshah... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... on Sunday.

Officials said that body of Hawaldar Adil Hussain was thrown near Miranshah Bazaar that was sent to his native town.

Adil Hussain and Niaz Ali were kidnapped from Bangi Dar checkpost by unidentified persons. Initially it was believed that kidnappers had shifted them to Afghanistan.

In Mohmand Agency... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar..., a veterinary centre was blown up by unidentified snuffies in Pandiali tehsil on Sunday.

The residents of the area said that snuffies planted bombs at the veterinary centre in Dawezai Haji Kor area and destroyed the building.

The political administration called sniffer dogs to trace the accused involved in the attack. However,a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... no arrest was made till filing of this report.

Meanwhile,...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio had his hands full of angry bleached blonde... Mulla Jan, a resident of teshil Safi, died in Levies lockup due to illness on Sunday. Sources said that his body was shifted to his native village. He was placed in durance vileDon't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! several years ago in Safi area, they added.

In SWABI, the office of an international NGO, Marie Stopes Society, was damaged in a blast on Sunday.

The office is located a few yards away from the offices of district coordination officer and district police officer on Swabi-Topi Road.

Officials said that the kaboom weighing at least five kilogram was packed in a canister and left outside the main gate of MSS office. The kaboom went off at around 5:20am and damaged the main gate and boundary wall of the office, they added.

Police said that nobody was present in the office at the time of the kaboom.

[Dawn] A man was killed and his minor son was injured when a policeman allegedly opened fire on them in Dubai Adda village here on Sunday.

After the incident, the relatives and residents of the area placed the body on the road to protest against the killing and demanded immediate arrest of the accused constable Karim Dad. The road remained blocked to traffic for several hours.

According to local residents, constable Karim Dad opened fire on Khalid Shah and his minor son when they were taking wood from a wood-cutting machine to their home. As a result, Khalid Shah died instantly, while his son was maimed.

The people ended the protest after senior coppers assured them of the arrest of the accused policeman and registration of a case against him.

The officials of Chora cop shoppe, however, said the man was mistakenly killed as the constable was shooting a mad dog at the time.

In Kohat, police recovered the missing head of the body of a slain man and tossed in the slammerInto the paddy wagon wit' yez! an accused during a raid at a house in College Town here on Sunday.

The police acting on a tip-off arrested the accused, Shabbir Khan, who led the police team to the graveyard where the head was buried.

The victim, Allah Din, hailed from Jacobabad, Sindh.

His body was found packed in a gunny bag in Bilitang village a month ago.

[Dawn] At least one person was killed and two injured on Monday when an kaboom hit Quetta, the capital of Pakistain's restive Balochistan...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province, DawnNews reported.

According to initial reports, the blast took place near the city's main Sariab road. Rescue officials confirmed at least one person was killed as a result of the kaboom.

[Dawn] Two officials of Rangers among seven people were killed in different incidents of violence in Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... on Monday, DawnNews reported.

In Sohrab Goth's Al-Asif Square neighbourhood, two Rangers officials were killed while three others sustained injuries when unidentified gunnies, riding cycle of violences, opened fire on a Rangers' vehicle.

The incident spread fear among residents of the area. The injured were shifted to a local hospital and heavy contingents of police and Rangers cordoned off the site.

Speaking to media representative, a front man of the Rangers declared the incident as reaction to ongoing search operations being carried out by the agency across the city. He said that such incident will not deter morale of soldiers of the agency and vowed to continue performing their duties.

On the other hand, two cracker blasts, within minutes gap, by unknown myrmidons spread fear in Orangi Town area. Two people including a traffic police constable got injured in the kaboom.

Earlier, two people were killed in separate firing incidents in Quaidabad and Nusrat Bhutto Colony.

An official of the bomb-disposal squad, identified as Abbas Naqvi, was targeted killed near Gulbahar's Katchi Ground. The incident forced people to shut their small businesses in the locality.

Meanwhile,...back at the hoedown, the fiddler suddenly struck a sour note. The dancing stopped abruptly. Everyone looked at Bob!... a man was bumped off in Jamshed Quarter's Usmania Colony while another man, identified as Zahid Khan, was killed in Garden area.

Moreover, an angry mob set a blaze a passenger bus near Jail Chowrangi amid protests against authorities over a reckless traffic accident.

[Iran Press TV] Israeli forces have conducted a limited incursion into the Gazoo Strip's southern city of Khan Yunis for the first time after a cease-fire agreement ended the Israeli regime's offensive on the blockaded coastal sliver.

Local sources reported on Monday that the Israeli army tanks and bulldozers launched the brief intrusion into the eastern city of Khan Yunis in southern Gazoo.

The Tel Aviv regime's recent incursion of the coastal enclave comes for the first time after an Egypt-mediated cease-fire put an end to Israel's deadly offensive on the Gazoo Strip on November 21.

Israeli military has already breached the truce deal on several instances.

On November 23, Israeli forces opened fire on a group of farmers in the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis, killing a young Paleostinian and injuring seven others only two days after the cease-fire entered into effect.

Over 160 Paleostinians, including women and kiddies, bit the dust and about 1,200 others were maimed in the Israeli aerial raids on Gazoo that were carried out during the eight-day period of November 14-21.

Paleostinian resistance fighters incessantly poured rockets and missiles on the Israeli cities, killing at least five Israelis, including one soldier, in retaliation for the deadly attacks on besieged territories.

#4
"Paleostinian resistance fighters incessantly poured rockets and missiles on the Israeli cities, killing at least five Israelis, including one soldier, in retaliation for the deadly attacks on besieged territories."

Snackbar warning. This is precisely why armored vehicles are supposed to have infantry support. Did he actually destroy the tank, or just blow up his grenade on the surface? Hard to tell from this angle.

It's kinda smudgy, but it looked more like a BMP-1 (an armored personnel carrier) than an actual tank. BMP-1's armor is 6-33 mm (I think the 33 mm's likely the turret and/or the front glacis) so likely the grenade did some damage. By way of contrast, the T55 has 203 mm turret and 99 mm hull.

I think I'll learn to speak Arabic. It seems pretty simple since most of the language appears to consist of hollering 'Allahu Akbar.'

[Iran Press TV] A shocking video has surfaced on the Internet showing bully boyz in Syria having a child behead a kidnapped man.

The clip, recently posted on YouTube, displays a child using a sword to chop off the head of the kidnapped whose hands are tied up.

The incident is believed to have taken place in the western city of Homs, located about 160 kilometers north of the capital, Damascus...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
The video also displays one of the bully boyz at the scene showing the severed head and placing it on the dead body.

Other beheaded prisoners can also be seen in the footage. However,Switzerland makes more than cheese... the identities of the victims are not known.

Experts say the Arabic language spoken by the bully boyz does not belong to Syrian people and they are believed to have Saudi accents.

On November 29, a similar footage surfaced online displaying foreign-backed bully boyz in the country killing 10 unarmed Syrian prisoners.

[Al Ahram] Rebels led by the radical Islamist group Al-Nusra Front seized a strategic army base in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... on Monday after weeks of fierce fighting, a watchdog said.
It was the last major military base west of Aleppo remaining under army control.

Base 111, with its headquarters in the village of Sheikh Suleiman, sprawls over nearly 200 hectares (500 acres) of rocky hills about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Aleppo city.

"It is a significant win for the rebels. It proves the army is still suffering major military losses," said Abdel Rahman, adding that the rebels seized up to 10 military vehicles and at least one tank.

Several other rebel groups grabbed credit for the capture.

"We the battalion of Ahrar Daret Ezza (Free Men of Daret Ezza) of the Free Syrian Army, with the help of other rebel brigades, have freed Base 111," said a rebel front man, in to a video statement posted online.

But Abdel Rahman insisted Al-Nusra and its allies were behind the capture.

"The mainstream Free Syrian Army may want to claim this victory -- but it is not theirs. It is Al-Nusra Front's and groups linked to it," he said.

According to an AFP journalist who covered the festivities around Sheikh Suleiman, many of the fighters were foreigners from other Arab countries and Central Asia who have joined the insurgency against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-AssadSupressor of the Damascenes...'s forces.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.